Pick a category from the Sidebar, go to the list of posts by title, type a topic in the “Search the Site” box, or just scroll down to start reading posts. The articles on this website were written by Susan B., a recovering compulsive spender and debtor. You can read about her recovery journey here.

Please note that the “Getting Out from Going Under” blog is not an official Debtors Anonymous publication nor is it endorsed by Debtors Anonymous. It is the work of one person who is recovering from compulsive debting and spending and all content is strictly her opinion.

Do You Have Questions or Need More Support?

I’m happy to see so many of you have enrolled in the Fearless Budgeting online training and are working through the program. I got an email the other day from someone wishing for support around this training.

So I thought it might be time to see if having “open office hours” would be helpful. If you haven’t yet enrolled, you might want to at least check out the preview lessons and see if you have any questions.

If you can’t attend in person, then please leave your question or topic in the student discussion forum or email me and I’ll answer it in the call.

The audio for the conference call will be posted in the discussion area.

The Fearless Budgeting Training Program for Compulsive Spenders has officially launched with this blog post!

I have to say that creating this training program took so much longer than I anticipated (six months instead of two) because I found that there was more and more that I needed to tell you, but I’m hoping this will be a helpful resource for compulsive spenders seeking to create and learn how to use a spending plan.

It’s Valentine’s Day, so it’s time for my annual Valentine’s Day rant. I’m rerunning last year’s post, but just want to add a couple of thoughts. I despise this marketing manipulation day for so many reasons, but really hope to convince you, at the least, not to fall for the hype and spend money you may not be able to afford as the Valentine Svengali’s are hoping to persuade you to do.

If you MUST “celebrate,” consider sending a free e-card in lieu of enriching Hallmark or American Greetings, who are part of this $18 billion dollar industry, using a sub-text of guilt to draw you into their web of unnecessary spending.

One of my favorite words is “sheeple.” According to the Merriam-Webster dictionary, it means docile, compliant, or easily influenced : people likened to sheep.

I don’t know if it’s “sheeple” complex driving this industry. Or guilt. Or an easy way to use money to show love. But you don’t need a specific day to remember to show those you love how much you care about them.

If you must engage in this nonsense because it matters to that most important person in your life, there are a million ways to express your love without giving in to the pressure to buy candy, jewelry, flowers, or cards … ways that will be far more meaningful and remembered more fondly. Here are a few examples:Continue reading →

I recently discovered that there were some people who were able to offer their readers three months free to try YNAB before having to pay for it. I was really upset because I was only able to offer the standard 34 days. I had no idea that this even existed!

So I wrote them and they approved my doing this too! I was really excited because you will have the two extra months to accumulate for the first year’s subscription. Then, you can just accumulate each month for subsequent years.

Plus, you can really give YNAB a good, long try to see if it’s the right approach for you. You know I love it, but you need the opportunity to fall in love with it too. 🙂

I feel badly because I asked if previous subscribers could now get the extra two months through my link but they said they didn’t have a way to do that. I’m sorry. I did try.

I’ve decided to create a series of spending plan training podcasts because it feels like that is the most important information I can offer you right now. If you want help creating or maintaining a spending plan, this podcast series is for you. Even if you already have a spending plan, the training will be a helpful refresher and will likely provide you a with new perspectives and tips. It’s the exact same process I’ve successfully used with my one-on-one students for seven years. And there’s no charge for this podcast series.

The Birth of Fearless Budgeting

I decided to call my training podcast “Fearless Budgeting.” I wrestled with this name for months. As you may know, I despise the word budget, but I strongly believe in the act of allocating money to categories, which is the definition of budgeting. I’ll go into more detail about spending plans vs. budgets in a later episode. But “Fearless Budgeting” truly encapsulates my overriding approach … to gently take you by the hand and help you overcome your terror around facing the truth of your spending, which is a crucial first step in the process, and to ease you into a practice that will keep you clear around your money and engaged with your spending plan ongoing.

By the end of the series, you will have a spending plan foundation and you will know how to work with your spending plan ongoing. And, you can always arrange a one-on-one session with me if you need additional help. Just go to FearlessBudgeting.com/training for details.Continue reading →

In this video, I go over how to track spending cash in YNAB as well as how to reconcile the cash account. In part one, I go into depth about receiving cash. In both videos, I demonstrate how to do split transactions as well.

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